Protecting apparatus for linemen



- June 5, 192s. l 1,672,476

- M. T. TIPSORD ET AL PRoTETING APPARATUS Fon LINEMEN Y Filed Jan. 5o, 192e I Patented June 5, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MELVIN T. TIPSORD AND HENRY W. IBODENDIEQK, OF TAYLORVILLE, ILLINOIS, AS-

SIGNORS TO TIPS TOOL COMPANY, IN CORPORATED, OF TAYLOR/VILLE, ILLINOIS, A

CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PROTECTING- APPARATUS FOR` LINEMEN.

Application filed January 30, 1926.

Thisy invention relates to devices of the kind that are used to protect linemen while they are working on poles which carry wires through which electric current flows.

The main object of our invention is to provide an apparat-us, which, when arranged in Ioperative position on a pole equipped with a cross arm, will virtually form an insulated shield for a lineman working on the pole and eliminate the possibility of a loose wire swaying inwardly and contacting with the linemans body. n j

Another object is to provide a protecting apparatus for linementhat canbe installed quickly and easily and which cany be used with pole crossarms and poles of various kinds and dimensions. l

To this end we have devised a protecting apparatus for linemen,which, in its simplest form, consists of a means adapted to be mounted on a pole cross arm adjacent the outer end of same and having provision for preventing a loose wire from swaying in-` wardly and striking against the body of a lineman who is working on thel pole below the cross arm. The apparatus preferably consists of members which are adapted to be combined with a pole and a cross arm on the pole in such a way yas to form an insulated frame that surrounds a lineman who is working ,on the pole at a point below the cross arm, and upwardly-projectingwire arresting members at the ends of the cross arm which prevent loose wires from swaying inwardly above the cross arm.

In the preferred form of our invention, as herein illustrated, the complete apparatus consists of two devices constructed so that they can be easily arranged in operative position on a pole cross arm adjacent the outer ends of same, wire arresting members projecting downwardly from said` devices and constructed of wood or lother suitable nonconducting material, members disposed at substantially right angles to said wire arresting members and arranged with their inner ends in engagement with the pole that carries the cross arm, thereby forming two rectangular-shaped frames that project laterally in opposite directions from the pole and which are of suicient dimensions to receive a lineman who is working on 'the pole below the cross arm, and wire arresting v members constructed of wood'or other suitable insulating material projecting upwardl quickly and easily.

Serial No. 85,045.

ly from said devices so as to hold loose electric wires in a safe position after they have been disconnected from the insulators on the cross arm. It is immaterial, however, so far as our broad idea is concerned, whether the apparatus is constructed so as to form two substantially rectangular-V shaped frames arranged at opposite sides of the pole, or only a single frame arranged at one side of the pole. The particular construction of the device or devices on the cross arm that vcarry the various wire arresting members of theapparatus is also immaterial, so long as ksaid devices are of such design that they can be applied and removed kFigure l of the drawings is a perspective view of a protecting apparatus for linemen constructed in accordance with our invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of one of the supporting devices for the wire arresting members; and

Figure 3 is a crosssectio`nal view of said device, taken on the line 3--8 of Figure 2,

,looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.l

In the preferred form of oui` invention herein illust-rated A designates a pole such as is used for carrying electric wires, B designates across arm on said pole, and C designates insulators on said cross arm to which electric wires a: are normally lashed. When it becomes necessary to replace the insulators on' the cross arm it is the usual custom to disconnect the wires from the insulators and then arrange props or struts between the wires and the pole so as to hold thewires spaced away from the insulators. This practice is exceedingly dangerous, par- '95 ticularly when the wires are used for carrying high tension currents, and many serious accidents have resulted from the props becoming disarranged or the wires slipping off the props and swaying inwardly into contact with the body of the lineman working on the pole below the cross arm. Accordingly, we propose toequip a pole cross arm with wire arresting members arranged farenough away from the lineman on the pole to notl interfere with the work he is performing, but which are so disposed that they absolutely eliminate the possibility of the wires coming in contact with the linemans body. Our complete apparatus preferably consists oftwo wire arrestingmembersl constructed of 'wood or other suitable non-conducting material that project downwardly from the end portions, of the' crossarmi` B parallel or substantially parallel totliepole A, two wire arresting members 2 constructed of wood or other suitable non-conducting material that project upwardly-from the' ends of the cross arm, and supporting devices 3 for said wire'arresting'membeis' de-v tachably connected to the end portions of the cross arms B. In most 'instances struts 4 will be arranged betweenthe pole'fA and the lower ends of the wire arresting members 'l` at substantially right4 angles' to said members l so as to take up any side strains to which theV members l are'subjected from lslipped yover-,one end of the cross arm B withits top-leg 3a disposed parallel'y to the cross arm and'projecting inwardly overthe top side of same and" with itsvbottomileg 3" proj eating inwardlybelow the' crossA arm.

The` top' ,lega is provided with a spur or sharp projection 5 that is adapted to bite into thecross arm,.and an adjustablecl'ampingv 'element Gis mountedl in thel bottom leg Sb'so as to engage lthe underside of the cross arm, said clamping element being screwed into an internally-screw`threaded sleeve 47l on the bottom leggb of the lsupporting' device,

Yandprovided at its upper lendwith aV spur or sharpl pointed projection 6e'. vOn the lower end oi? the clamping'ielement Gis` asocket 8.! that receivesv the wire arresting member l, and lsaidl member is permanentlyfconne'ctedto said'socket by screws or other suitable Vfastening devices 9 so that said member 1 can be used for rotatingv the clampingfelement 6 to clamp thev supportingedevicejf in operative position on tlie cross. arm or release said device from the crossV arm. The; wirefarrestingi member 2` can be coml y binedf with the-device Sin any suitable way,

but we prefer 'to provide said device with a. socket 10. in which the lowerV end portion ofthev member Qfis positioned. Preferably, thel vertically-disposed' portion of` the supporting device 3` i/svprovided with laterallyprojecting` wings 11 that bear against the device from twisting:` or turning into vsuch al-position astoithrowv the top and bottom legs of' same out ofl parallel relationship with the cross arm. In the apparatus herein illustrated' the' strut 4 is providedat its inner end" with a'. sharp pointedf projection or spur 4a thatisadaptedl to biterinto the pole A, and the wire arresting member l is provided"K at its'- lower end with an eye or ring 12 inwhichV the outer end portion ofthe' strutl 4"ispo-sitioned, said strut and member l' being. detacliably. connected together by a lashingv 13 or' other suitable means, which will hold'saidparts atsubst'antially right? angles to eachother-and cause the.' strut 4" to talr'e' up any side strains or thrusts to which the wire arrestingniember l' is subjected..

In using our apparatus' thesupporting devices 3 are adapted to' be slipped over the ends of the cross arm B and clamped selcurelyto said cross arm by rotatingv the wirearresting members Y1L in a direction .to cause the spurs 5 on theA devices' Sto bite ends of',l the devices: 3, thefwireV arrestingv vmembersQ" airev positione'din the ysockets l0 vinto the top faces ofthe crossarmandthe off said devices 3 cso'as to prevent said'wires f from movin'o" inwardl over the to i sidey z5 Y l y y of Jthe cross arm.

An apparatus ofthe" construction labove describe-ellis inexpensiv'eto'consti-uct; it can b'efinstalled or: removed quickly and easily;

"itcaii be used'with' poles aiidfpole'cross arms of various kinds and dimensions, antlv'lien arrangedx in operative position, it absolutely eliminates` the possibility ofj the 'wires which have beenA disconnected from the Vcross arm insulators from.. swayingA inwardly either above'kthecross' arml or belowthe cross arm,

lineman working on' the pole.y

Havingthuszdescri'bed our invention, lwhat we claim'asnn'e-w andfdesire to secure'by-'Letters Patentis':

l. AA protectingV apparatus for linemen, comprising a' device that'is` adapted to be detacliably connected to a' pole cross arm and'thus striliiiofV against the bodyotthe adjacenttthe outer' end of' same, an'oncon ducting member projecting" downwardly from` said device, and"V a member projecting laterally from th'efpole below the.. crossV arm andc-onnected,y tothe lowerend p'ortionvof said" non-conducting, member, for. the' Vpur- A fpo'se'described; endf of. the cross arm, and thus prevent the 2' A Protecting apparatus: for meinen. coInPiIlsingp-adevice adaptedto be Connected to a pole cmss arm adjacent the outer end of same, non-conducting members proJectving upwardly and downwardly from said device, and a thrust member projecting laterally from the pole and detachably connected to the lower end portion of said downwardly-proj ecting member.

3. A protecting apparatus for linemen, comprising a substantially C-shaped device that is adapted to be slipped over the end of a pole cross arm, a clamping element adjustably mounted in the bottom leg of vsaid device, and wire arresting members projecting upwardly and downwardly from said device, for the purpose described.

4. A protecting apparatus forlinemen, comprising a substantially C-shaped device adapted to be mounted on a pole cross arm and provided with means that bears against the end of the cross arm and holds said device properly positioned with relation to the cross arm, means Jr'or clamping said device to the cross arm, and wire arresting members projecting upwardly and downwardly from said device.

5. A protectingr apparatus for linemen, comprising a Substantially C-shaped device adapted to be slipped over the end of a pole cross arm, a clamping element adjustably mounted in the bottom leg of said device, a 'wire arrestingvmember projecting downwardly from said clamping element, and a socket o n said device for receiving an upwardly-projecting wire arresting member.

6. A protecting apparatus for linemen, comprising a device adapted to be detachably connected to a pole cross arm adjacent the outer end of same, a wire arresting member projecting downwardly from said device and provided at its lower end with an eye7 and a second member positioned in said eye at substantially right angles to said wire arresting member and arranged with its inner end bearing against the pole that carries the cross arm.

7. A protecting apparatus for linemen, comprising a substantially C-shaped device adapted to be slipped over a pole cross arm, a socket on said device that is adapted to receive an upwardly-projecting wire arresting member, a clamping element adjustably mounted in the bottom leg of said device or clamping said device to the cross arm, a downwardly-projecting wire arresting member connected to said clamping element and providedy at its lower end with an eye or ring, and a member arranged in said ring at substantially right angles to said downwardly-projecting member and arranged with its inner end engaging the pole that carries the cross arm.

8. A protecting apparatus for linemen adapted to be arranged in a substantially vertical position at one side of a pole below a rigid cross arm on the pole, means for detachably connecting said member to the arm, and a second member adapted to be arranged in a substantially horizontal position below the crossv arm and engaged with the pole and with the member first referred to s0 as to form a frame inside of which a lineman can work with safety at a point below the cross arm.

9. A protecting apparatus for linemen, comprising members adapted to be detachably connected with a pole and with a rigid cross arm on the pole so as to form a frame below'the cross arm in which a lineman can work with safety, and elements at the outer sides of said frame that project upwardly above the cross arm and thus prevent loose wires from swaying inwardly above the cross arm.

MELVIN T. TIPSORD. HENRY W. BODENDIECK. 

